No. 4 Men's Soccer Opens MVC Play at Missouri State
10/11/2011 3:44:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Match 12 at Missouri State • Wednesday, Oct. 12 • 7:00 p.m.
#4 Creighton Bluejays at Missouri State Bears
Plaster Field • Springfield, Mo.
Series History: Creighton leads 19-7-4
#4 Creighton Bluejays at Missouri State Bears
Plaster Field • Springfield, Mo.
Series History: Creighton leads 19-7-4
Following the Jays: Live stats will be provided by Missouri State for the match, no live video or audio will be available. Fans can access the live stats link provided on Creighton's homepage at www.gocreighton.com.
This Week: Creighton finishes its longest road trip of the year and opens MVC play on the road for the first time since 2002 with a match at Missouri State on Wednesday. The Bluejays return home to Morrison Stadium on Saturday to host No. 7 UC Irvine.
Last Week: Creighton captured a pair of road wins against Big Ten opponents, defeating Wisconsin 2-1 in overtime last Wednesday and topping No. 10 Indiana 1-0 on Sunday. Dion Acoff scored in both matches and was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week, while Greg Jordan scored the golden goal at Wisconsin in the 94th minute.
Scouting #4 Creighton (10-1-0, 0-0-0 MVC): The fourth-ranked Bluejays, defending MVC champions and preseason MVC favorites posted eight consecutive shutout victories to start the season for their best start since 1993 and their longest winning streak since 2000 ... Creighton was the last team in the country to allow a goal in 2011 and enter the week ranked second in the NCAA with a 0.18 goals against average and .951 save percentage ... CU has outscored its opponents 20-2 on the year ... Creighton returns eight starters, including six all-conference players from the 2010 team, while it has 17 newcomers on the roster this season ... All-American, 2010 MVC Player of the Year and two-time MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Ethan Finlay leads the team with six goals, 17 points and a career-high five assists, while he is the only MVC player with at least five goals and five assists ... Sophomore Bruno Castro, an ACC All-Freshman Team honoree at North Carolina last year, is second on the team with four assists, three goals and 10 points ... Sophomore Tyler Polak, CU's other National Player of the Year Candidate and the 2010 MVC Freshman of the Year, is tied for second on the team with four assists ... Greg Jordan is tied for second on the team with three goals ... Juniors Dion Acoff, Jose Gomez and Jordan, along with record-setting senior goalkeeper Brian Holt were also all-MVC honorees last year ... Holt is the school and MVC record-holder with 35 career shutouts and his 0.69 career goals against average ranks second in CU and MVC history. He ranks second in the NCAA with a 0.18 goals against average, having allowed only two goals in better than 990 minutes played this season.
Scouting Missouri State (3-5-2, 1-0-0 MVC): The Bears opened MVC play with a 2-1 win over Central Arkansas on Saturday to improve to 3-1-1 in their last five matches after going winless through their first five matches ... MSU has scored 12 goals this year, with half coming in a 6-1 win over Oral Roberts ... The Bears scored four goals through their first seven matches, have been shutout four times this year and scored more than one goal in a match only twice ... Four different Bears are tied for the team-lead with two goals, as Jordan Hoffman tops the team with six points ... Heath Melugin leads MSU with three assists ... Trevor Spangenberg has started all ten matches for MSU in goal, making 18 saves and allowing 13 goals for the lowest save percentage in the MVC.
Head Coach: Elmar Bolowich is in his first year at Creighton following a 22-year stint at North Carolina, where he guided the Tar Heels to 15 NCAA Tournaments, four College Cup appearances and the 2001 NCAA Title. The 2001 NSCAA National Coach of the Year is now 290-145-40 (.653) in his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach. Bolowich guided UNC to back-to-back ACC championships in his final two seasons in Chapel Hill, while his final three UNC teams advanced to the College Cup. He is one of five active coaches in NCAA Division I soccer to lead a team to four College Cup appearances.
CU-MSU Series: Creighton is 19-7-4 all-time against Missouri State, including a 4-4-4 record in Springfield. In each of the previous six meetings with the Bears, at least one team has failed to score and the squads played to scoreless draws in each of Creighton's previous two trips to Springfield. CU and MSU have tied in CU's last three trips to MSU and is 0-1-3 in its last four visits, with its last win over the Bears in Springfield coming on Oct. 18, 2002. The Jays are 4-1-3 in their last eight meetings with the Bears, including a 2-0 win in Omaha last November.
Last Year vs. Missouri State: Creighton limited Missouri State to just one shot on goal in a 2-0 win in Omaha on Nov. 3, 2010. The Bluejays went ahead 1-0 on an own goal in the 15th minute and went up 2-0 on a Sergio Castillo header with an assist from Ethan Finlay in the 76th minute. The Bluejays outshot the Bears 16-5 in the CU victory last year.
Acoff Doubles Up: Junior forward Dion Acoff scored his first two goals of the season last week to earn MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors and be named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. Acoff scored his first goal at Wisconsin last Wednesday and then scored the game's only goal in a 1-0 win at 10th-ranked Indiana on Sunday. The score at IU was Acoff's first career game-winning score. The forward, who has 15 career assists, now has four career goals after scoring two goals in his first 42 career games.
MVC Opener: Creighton's match at Missouri State marks marks the first time since 2002 that the Bluejays are playing their first MVC match on the road. In 2002 the Bluejays tied Drake 1-1 to open a 7-1-1 Valley campaign. The Bluejays are 13-3-4 all-time in MVC openers, including a 1-0 home win over Eastern Illinois last year. The Bluejays have out-scored their opponents 15-5 in their last six Valley openers – including 4-0 (Western Kentucky, 2006) and 5-0 (Eastern Illinois, 2005) wins. CU is 5-1-3 in its first MVC road match of the year since 2002 and is unbeaten in its last five MVC road debuts.
Road Warriors: Creighton is unbeaten in its last 14 Missouri Valley Conference road matches, going 8-0-6 on the MVC road since losing to Bradley in the 2006 regular-season finale – meaning that no current Bluejay has lost an MVC regular-season road match. Creighton won two more road matches last week to improve to 5-1-0 on the road this season and 20-2-7 (.810) in regular-season road matches since 2007. Creighton's only two road losses in that span have come to teams ranked in the top-five – including this season's loss at No. 3-ranked Maryland.
Rare Jordan: Junior Greg Jordan scored just his second career game-winning goal when he knocked in the golden goal to beat Wisconsin in overtime last Wednesday. Jordan, who is tied for second on the team with three goals this year, now has seven career goals. His previous game-winner came against DePaul last September.
Holt Has CLASS: Senior Brian Holt has been named one of 10 national finalists for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Fans can vote for Holt once a day every day through Nov. 14 on Facebook and at www.seniorclassaward.com. Holt and teammate Ethan Finlay were among the 30 preseason candidates for the award.
CU vs. Top 25: Creighton's 2-0 win over No. 22 Kentucky (Sept. 21) moved the Bluejays to an impressive 16-2-1 (.868) against the NSCAA top 25 at Morrison Stadium. The Bluejays are now 26-9-2 (.729) against nationally-ranked opponents at home. The Jays are 2-1-0 against the NSCAA top 25 this year, also winning 1-0 at No. 10 Indiana (Oct. 9) and losing at No. 3 Maryland (Sept. 30). CU is 57-42-10 (.569) all-time against the coaches top 25. The Jays are 23-18-8 (.551) all-time against top-25 teams on the road.
October Success: With a pair of wins last week, Creighton improved to 49-10-12 (.775) in the month of October since 2002, compared to a winning percentage of .692 in all other months of the season between 2002 and 2010. The Bluejays have gone unbeaten in four Octobers since 2002 (2002, 2003, 2007, 2008).
Bluejays in October Since 2002
Year Oct. Season NCAA
2002 6-0-1 18-4-2 College Cup
2003 7-0-1 12-6-4 Quarterfinals
2004 6-3-0 14-4-2 Third Round
2005 5-3-1 15-5-3 Quarterfinals
2006 5-1-1 13-5-3 First Round
2007 5-0-2 12-3-5 Third Round
2008 4-0-2 16-2-2 Quarterfinals
2009 4-1-3 7-4-5 DNQ
2010 5-2-1 13-5-2 Second Round
2011 2-0-0 10-1-0 ???
Total 49-10-12 122-38-28
Poll Position: Creighton is ranked fourth in the NSCAA poll this week, up from No. 5 last week. The Bluejays remain No. 1 in the NSCAA Midwest Region ranking for the seventh straight week. The Bluejays are also ranked fourth by Soccer America, Soccer Times and College Soccer News this week.
NCAA Statistical Rankings: Creighton has allowed only two goals through its first 11 matches and it now ranks second in the NCAA in goals against average (0.18), shutout percentage (.818) and save percentage (.951) with goalkeeper Brian Holt ranking second in the NCAA with the same goals against average and save percentage.
Holt Breaks His Own Record: Senior goalkeeper Brian Holt opened this season by not allowing a goal in his first 733:19 played. Adding that streak to the final 20:15 of the 2010 season, Holt did not allowed a goal in 753:34 minutes played – establishing a school-record for consecutive minutes between goals allowed. He surpassed his own school record of better than 722 straight scoreless minutes set during his freshman season in 2008.
Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
B. Holt - 753:34, Nov. 21, 2010 – Sept. 10, 2011
Brian Holt - 722:12, Sept. 13-Oct. 11, 2008
Kevin Doyle - 562:44, Oct. 11-Nov. 7, 1992
Tom Zawislan - 500:20, Oct. 1-29, 1999
Matt Allen - 480:00, Oct. 26-Nov. 22, 2005
Extended Road Trips: Creighton concludes its season long four-game road trip on Wednesday – the second straight season the Bluejays play four straight away from home after not playing a four-game road trip in the regular-season since 2005. The Bluejays posted a 3-1-0 record on the four-game road swing last year, winning the first three before losing at No. 1 Akron to end the stretch. CU went 4-0-0 on a four-game MVC road trip during the 2002 season.
Regular-Season 4 Game Road Trips Since 2000
2010 – 3-1-0 2001 – 2-2-0
2005 – 2-2-0 2000 – 3-1-0
2002 – 4-0-0
Bolowich's Best: With an 8-0-0 start, Creighton helped head coach Elmar Bolowich to the best start of his 23-year coaching career. In 22 seasons at North Carolina, Bolowich never won more than four matches to start a season. His 2005 team started 7-0-1 after winning its first four matches for the longest unbeaten start to a season in his career.
Historic Start: Creighton's 8-0-0 start was its best since the 1993 team won its first 19 matches of the season en route to earning the No. 1 ranking for the final five weeks of the regular-season. The last two times Creighton started a season with six straight wins it advanced to the College Cup (1996 and 2000). The 2000 team advanced to the NCAA Championship match and led the NCAA with 22 wins. The Bluejays posted a school-record eight straight shutouts, never before had CU started a season with more than four straight clean sheets.
Clean Sheet Records: Creighton set a school record by recording eight straight shutouts to start this season, topping the former mark of six established by the 2008 team. In 2008, the Bluejays posted six straight shutouts from Sept. 19 through Oct. 8 and went more than 722 minutes between goals that season. With five straight shutouts at home, the Bluejays have tied the single-season consecutive home shutout record (1999, 2003). The longest home shutout streak over two seasons is six, done so between 1999 and 2000.
Protecting this House: Since moving into Morrison Stadium in 2003, more than half of Creighton's matches have resulted in a Bluejay shutout – 45 clean sheets in 89 matches. The Bluejays have outscored opponents 170-60 at the venue and posted an impressive 0.65 home goals against average at Morrison Stadium.
CU's Defense at Morrison Stadium
Year GAA GA Sho W-L-T
2011 0.00 0 5 5-0-0
2010 0.88 9 5 7-2-1
2009 0.49 4 4 5-2-1
2008 0.53 6 6 10-1-0
2007 0.85 12 5 6-3-4
2006 0.62 6 5 6-1-2
2005 0.68 7 6 8-1-1
2004 0.90 11 2 10-1-1
2003 0.44 5 7 7-2-2
Totals 0.65 60 45 64-13-12
Home Sweet Morrison: With its 5-0-0 start at home this season, Creighton is now 64-13-12 (.787) all-time at Morrison Stadium (since 2003), including a 16-2-1 (.868) record against top 25 foes at the venue. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 166-29-16 (.825) at home.
Winning: Brian Holt became the fourth goalkeeper in school history to record 40 career wins when he picked up his 40th victory against Fordham on Sept. 9. With his 1-0 win over Saint Mary's (Sept. 24) he picked up his 44th career win to move past two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year Matt Allen into second place on the CU career victories chart. He now has 46 wins, trailing only Jay Fitzgerald's school-record 53 victories.
3x Offensive Player of the Week: Senior All-American forward Ethan Finlay was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week in three of the first five weeks this season. He earned his first award on Sept. 6 following his two-goal, one assist match at UMKC (Aug. 31). The 2010 MVC Player of the Year scored twice and assisted another goal at UMKC, before assisting a score against Drexel (Sept. 4). Finlay scored two goals against Providence (Sept. 17) to again earn the accolade on Sept. 19. His latest honor came after he played a part in every goal against Kentucky (Sept. 21) and Saint Mary's (Sept. 24). He has now been named MVC Offensive Player of the Week six times in his career.
Defensive Players of the Week: A Bluejay was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week in four of the first five weeks this season, with Brian Holt bringing home the honor three times and junior center back Jake Brown winning the honor in week three. Brown earned his first two Bluejay starts and played every minute of CU's shutouts against Fordham (Sept. 9) and DePaul (Sept. 11). Holt has now earned the honor six times in his career as he made seven saves (one shy of his career high set as a freshman in 2008) at Denver to open the season in CU's 1-0 win and also posted a solo shutout of Drexel after splitting time in goal of CU's 5-0 win at UMKC. His latest honor came after he shut down the second-highest scoring offense in the NCAA in a 2-0 win over No. 22 Kentucky (Sept. 21).
Fantastic Fans: Creighton drew 5,425 fans for its home opener against Drexel on Sept. 4, the fourth-largest crowd in school history and the third-largest in regular-season play. The fans were among the largest home crowd to witness a home victory, as the Bluejays are 0-2-1 in their highest three attended matches. CU's second home game against Fordham on Sept. 9 brought in 4,242 fans, the seventh-largest crowd. Creighton has ranked in the top-10 in the NCAA attendance in each of the first eight seasons of Morrison Stadium.
Top 10 Creighton Home Crowds
1 – 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 – 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 – 5,609 vs. Missouri State, Sept. 19, 2009
4 – 5,425 vs. Drexel, Sept. 4, 2011
5 – 4,407 vs. Saint Louis, Aug. 31, 1997
6 – 4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993
7 – 4,242 vs. Fordham, Sept. 9, 2011
8 – 4,071 vs. Gonzaga, Aug. 29, 2008
9 – 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
10 – 4,023 vs. Tulsa, Sept. 22, 2007
Finlay Facts: Ethan Finlay has scored a team-leading six goals this season, including a pair of two-goal matches. He now has seven career multiple-goal matches, ranking him fourth in school history. His 35 career goals ranks sixth in Bluejay history and with 16 points this season he has climbed into the Creighton career top-10 with 86 career points. He now ranks seventh in school history with 86 career points. Of his 35 career scores, a Morrison Stadium-record 20 have come at home and 17 of his career goals have accounted for game-winners. The All-American owns Morrison Stadium career records for goals (20), points (50), shots (99) and shots on goal (44).
Duran Factor: Since the start of the 2010 season the Bluejays have outscored the opposition 26-1 when fifth-year senior Andrew Duran is on the pitch. The senior suffered a season-ending injury in the fifth match of last season, with the Jays having outscored foes 10-0 with him playing. This year he has been on the field for 16 of CU's first 17 goals.
Offensive Output: Creighton's five goals against UMKC (Aug. 31) matched its highest scoring match of the previous four seasons and with nine goals through three matches, the Bluejays equalled the 2008 and 2004 teams for the most goals through three matches in the last 12 seasons. The 2008 team advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, while the 2004 team made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Push the Clutch: Ethan Finlay leads the team and MVC with three game-winning goals this year, nothing new for the senior as he has led the MVC in game-winning goals in each of this first three collegiate campaigns. Of his 35 career goals, 17 have been game-winners.
Big Win: Creighton toppled UMKC 5-0 for the Bluejays' most lopsided victory in five years on Aug. 31. CU's last give-goal win came over Central Arkansas (6-1) on Sept. 27. It was the Jays' most lopsided shutout since a 6-0 win at Georgetown on Oct. 19, 2005.
Debut Note: Freshman Guido Peña scored Creighton's only goal in its 1-0 season-opening win at Denver (Aug. 27). The rookie from Costa Rica was one of five Bluejay newcomers to debut in the win, as he was joined by fellow Costa Rican, sophomore transfer Bruno Castro (North Carolina), along with junior transfer Jake Brown (Saint Louis) and true freshmen Jose Ribas and Eric Miller. Miller and Castro each started their first Bluejay match, while Peña, Brown and Ribas came off the bench. The match was also the debut for new Bluejay head coach Elmar Bolowich. JT Seger and Alex Bolowich then made their collegiate debuts at UMKC (Aug. 31).
Scoring in Debut: Freshman Guido Peña scored Creighton's only goal in his debut at Denver (Aug. 27). It marked the second straight season a Bluejay newcomer scored in his debut, following Jose Gomez's goal at Loyola (Ill.) last year. Prior to Gomez and Peña scoring in their CU debuts, it had not happened since Brian Kallman (older brother of current junior Brent Kallman) did so in 2005.
MVC Preseason Favorite: The defending MVC regular-season champion Bluejays have been picked by league coaches to again win the title in 2011. The Jays received six of seven first-place votes and 48 of the possible 49 points in the poll. Ethan Finlay, Tyler Polak, Dion Acoff, Jose Gomez, Greg Jordan and Brian Holt were each named to the preseason all-MVC team, taking up six of the 11 spots on the squad. The Bluejays, who have been picked to win The Valley 13 times, own a league record 10 regular-season titles.
Finlay, Polak are MAC Hermann Candidates: Senior forward Ethan Finlay and sophomore defender Tyler Polak have been named to the preseason Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List. Finlay was an NSCAA Second-Team All-American last year in recording the highest scoring season by a Bluejay in a decade, while Polak was the 2010 MVC Freshman of the Year. In addition to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, both players have been named preseason All-Americans by College Soccer News and Soccer America.
Senior Leaders: Creighton has six seniors on the roster, including three fifth-year players. Goalkeepers Bryan Hoie and Brian Holt each redshirted his first season on campus in 2007 behind two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year Matt Allen, while Andrew Duran took a medical redshirt last year and is back for his fifth season with the Bluejays. Kris Clark and Ethan Finlay are back for their fourth year with the Bluejays and Jace Peters is also a senior (in his second year at Creighton). In addition to the six seniors listed on the roster, fourth-year junior Greg Jordan (medical redshirt in 2009), is on pace to graduate in December. Both Finlay and Jordan joined Creighton a semester early, finishing high school early to be here.
Morrison Stadium is Tops: This summer CollegeSoccerNews.com made a top-12 list of the most exciting venues to watch a college soccer match and Creighton's Morrison Stadium topped the list. Creighton ranked eighth in the NCAA in attendance in 2010 and has ranked in the NCAA top-10 in attendance in each of the last eight years.
CollegeSoccerNews.com's
Most Exciting Venues to
Watch College Soccer
1. Morrison Stadium – Creighton
2. Harder Stadium – UC Santa Barbara
3. Ludwig Field – Maryland
4. Cub Cadet Field – Akron
5. Morrone Stadium – Connecticut
6. Armstrong Stadium – Indiana
7. UNM Soccer Complex – New Mexico
8. Spry Stadium – Wake Forest
9. Spanos Stadium – Cal Poly
10. Merlo Field – Portland
11. Hermann Stadium – Saint Louis
12. Belson Soccer Stadium – St. John's
MVC Tournament Hosts: For just the third time since the venue was dedicated in 2004, Morrison Stadium will serve as host to the State Farm MVC Men's Soccer Championship in November. The Bluejays also hosted the MVC Tournament at Morrison Stadium in 2004 and 2007. The Jays have yet to win the MVC Tournament at Morrison Stadium, as SMU (2004) and Bradley (2007) claimed tourney titles in Omaha the previous two times it was held here.
Finlay, Polak Join Long List: Senior Ethan Finlay and sophomore Tyler Polak are each on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, joining a long list of National Player of the Year candidates from Creighton, including the 1997 winner and current assistant coach, Johnny Torres.
CU National Player of the Year Candidates
Year Player
2011 Ethan Finlay, Tyler Polak
2010 Ethan Finlay
2009 Byron Dacy, Chris Schuler, Seth Sinovic
2008 Byron Dacy, Andrei Gotsmanov
2007 Byron Dacy, Matt Allen
2006 Byron Dacy
2004 Julian Nash
2003 David Wagenfuhr
2002 Mike Tranchilla
2001 Mike Tranchilla
1997 Johnny Torres (Won)
1996 Ross Paule
1993 Keith DeFini, Brian Kamler
Finlay is Top Prospect: TopDrawerSoccer.com ranked Ethan Finlay as the top senior pro prospect in all of college soccer to begin the season. Andrew Duran (35) and Brian Holt (79) were ranked on that same top-100 senior prospects list. Sophomore Tyler Polak was ranked 11th on a list of the top-25 underclassmen by TDS. Polak was the highest ranked Bluejay by TDS in its first weekly ranking of the top-100 sophomores, juniors and seniors on Aug. 22. The sophomore defender was ranked fifth in the initial list, with Finlay (14), Greg Jordan (74) and Duran (97) also ranking in the top-100 players in the NCAA according to TDS.
Soccer Luncheons: The 2011 Elmar Bolowich Jays Kicks Club Luncheons will be held at Anthony's Restaurant & Lounge (72nd & F Streets) on Sept. 2, Oct. 3 and Nov. 2. All of the luncheons start at noon and a season pass is $60 per person. Individual luncheons may also be purchased, if space is available, at $20 per person 48 hours prior to the event. Highlights of each luncheon will include insight on how the team is progressing, what to look for in upcoming matches plus newsletters with updated statistics and door prizes. To register and purchase your season pass online, go to www.creighton.edu/athleticevents. For more information or to make a reservation by phone or email, contact Barb Epps (402-280-5577, bepps@creighton.edu).
Follow Us!: Creighton men's soccer can now be found on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
www.twitter.com/CreightonMSOC
www.facebook.com/CreightonSoccer
www.youtube.com/CreightonMSOC
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